5 Top Tips for Training for an Ironman during Menopause

(or any long-distance race)

Here’s my top tips to get the most out of Ironman or long-distance training during menopause*.

They are based on research and strongly underpinned by experience from my own training (this year I qualified for and raced at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, which would have been impossible without following this advice) and that of my clients who are mostly those stepping up the distance for the first time.

They apply beyond menopause. If you haven’t hit perimenopause yet, they're still great habits to build now, and will make a massive difference once you do.

But they become soooo much more important during perimenopause, especially as the distance ramps up.

1. Adjust your training plan to avoid overtraining during menopause

I find many women – even more so than men – struggle to listen to their bodies, and even more to act on what it tells them.

A lifetime of ignoring hunger cues because of countless diets, or feeling guilty about not doing enough training, often means those signals get brushed aside.

But during perimenopause, hormones are constantly fluctuating, which affects your body’s ability to recover. A session that feels fine one day can leave you wiped out the next.

Recovery is vital. Learning to listen when your body says “that’s enough” can stop you spiralling into a tunnel of fatigue that’s even harder to escape.

Some tips:

• Cancel a session or swap a hard session for an easier one without feeling you have to “make up” for what you missed.

  Plan regular rest days and recovery weeks – but be prepared to move them if needed.

• Try training with HRV (heart rate variability). Many women I coach find it gives them ‘permission’ to rest when their bodies need it.

• Track your cycle symptoms (even if you don’t bleed). Noticing patterns in symptoms can help you plan and give you a heads-up about what’s coming. It’s also invaluable info if you want support from a doctor on your symptoms.

  
  

Most importantly, watch your mindset.

It doesn’t mean you cant still make progress. This year by following these principles and respecting my body better than I ever have before, I got my best ever Ironman result – coming 2nd in my age group at Leeds, as well as qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

2. How to fuel training during menopause

Almost every woman I’ve ever coached has underfuelled their training. We’re conditioned from an early age to see exercise as a way to burn calories, so the idea of consuming calories during it feels ‘wrong’.

But fuelling is essential for long-distance training and racing – even more so in perimenopause. If the body senses there isn’t enough energy, it sees training as another stressor, and often responds by holding onto body fat or even adding it.

When racing you want to aim to take in as many carbs per hour as you can tolerate – and you need to train your stomach to adapt to this, just like you train your muscles and cardiovascular system.

The earlier you start practising this, the more you’ll be able to take on and utilise on race day. Start with around 30-40g of carbs an hour and see what you can build up to.

(though I would avoid aiming to lose weight during heavy training – you need the calorie surplus to adapt).

Remember, fuelling isn’t just for during training – it takes energy to recover too. When I’m struggling to get in the “last gel” on a long run I remind myself that it’s also helping to kick start my recovery so I’ll get more from the training session.

3. How to boost recovery during menopause

As my clients will tell you, I’m always saying “you don’t get fitter from training, you get fitter from the recovery afterwards”.

Training breaks you down. Recovery builds you back stronger.

But get the balance wrong – too much training, not enough recovery – and you end up ill or injured.

In perimenopause, when recovery is already compromised by higher inflammation, poor sleep and hormonal shifts, it becomes even more challenging to get the balance right.

Key recovery tools:

• Get enough rest between sessions, especially the harder ones. Planning enough rest between training sessions is key. How much is enough? It goes back to listening to your body and being prepared to adapt your plan if you don’t feel recovered.

• Get enough protein: Female clients are very rarely eating enough protein when we first start working together. Track your protein intake for a few days – weigh your food, check the labels for the amount of protein, and see what you get on a typical day.

• Aim for a very minimum of 1g per kg of bodyweight, but ideally closer to 2g/kg or more. Then find ways to increase with protein based snacks or adding to meals.

  
  

• Prioritise sleep. Night sweats, racing thoughts and aches can make sleep tough during perimenopause but it’s vital as its when your body repairs and recovers.

• Good sleep practices are key but stressing about sleep can make things worse so focus on what you can do rather than stressing about what you can’t. For example a cool room, going to bed 15 mins earlier, a curfew on phones, computers and bright lights, or eat at least 1- 2 hours before bed.

• Techniques to calm your mind (such as meditation, breathing practices, visualisation, CBT for insomnia, yoga before bed) can make a massive difference. I had about 6 months where shoulder pain woke me at 4am every morning. I very rarely went back to sleep but got so good at relaxing whilst I lay there that I didn’t feel too much worse the next day.

4. How to reduce stress during menopause

I’m a Life Coach as well as a triathlon coach, and I can’t overstate how important mindset is – for training and for life. But during perimenopause, it becomes critical.

Hormonal swings can send moods up and down, with depression and anxiety spiking – especially when combined with poor sleep or injuries that limit training and with it, that boost to our mental health.

Add high training stress on top of perimenopause and life stress, and it’s no wonder many women feel they suddenly cant cope.

Some simple mindset tools:

Choose where to shine your spotlight. Instead of focusing on negatives, look for positives. Try “five fingers of gratitude” – during a tough session or a tough day, find five small things to be happy about (a friendly hello from a dog walker, a flower, a beautiful sky).

Stop comparing yourself – stop comparing yourself to the former you, she had different hormones and was in a different stage of life. There’s been ups and downs since then, but think of all you’ve achieved. Would you swap all that for a faster PB?

And stop comparing yourself to other women. You don’t know what’s going on in their lives. They may have different caring responsibilities to you, different perimenopause symptoms, different work responsibilities, different training histories, different genes and so much more.

5. How to add strength and conditioning to training during menopause

S&C is non-negotiable – but it doesn’t just mean lifting heavy. Mobility and stability (and balance and plyometrics and even pelvic floor work and breathing) can be just as important.

We hear a lot that women in perimenopause must lift heavy weights to protect muscle and bone as oestrogen declines. And I completely agree.

But if you’re training for an Ironman, that’s already a massive load on the body. My approach is to go heavier in the off-season, then back off during peak training, focusing on mobility, stability, prehab and lighter strength work.

Other possible side effects of perimenopause and some things that might help

Moods, especially depression and anxiety during menopause

• Mindset work when you feel good is key so you’re ready to use the tools as things get worse

• Prioritising but not stressing about sleep

• Having ways to support your mental health that don’t just rely on training so you have options if you’re ill or injured or need more recovery, for example morning daylight, nature walks, other movement that doesn’t stress your body

Vaginal dryness during menopause

• This is not talked about nearly enough but can make exercise a complete misery. As well as vaginal moisturisers, talk to the doctor about vaginal oestrogen. It works at a local level so can often be an option even when HRT isn’t.

Irritable stomach during menopause

• Try to ensure you maintain a balanced and varied diet and healthy microbiome.

• Suddenly things that you were fine to eat before can cause problems. Try experimenting with different options and tracking in a diary to identify the culprits and then try and find other alternatives (or where possible slowly reintroduce).

• Protein and creatine can cause issues so if you've just started taking these check they're not the issue (and if they are experiment with alternative brands and formats)

Brain fog during menopause

• Creatine phosphate can be helpful where, and again try and protect sleep.

Hot flushes, night sweats during menopause

• I’ve listed these right at the end, despite the fact that they’re often listed as the most common symptoms, they’re rarely mentioned by the clients I work with

• HRT can help here, as well as the obvious things like keeping the room cool (consider a separate duvet if you share a bed)

More sensitive skin during menopause

• Good lubes can make a real difference, and really spend some time trying different kit

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Each month you'll get Q&As, masterclasses and coaching sessions, weekly S&C and mobility to help you get fitter, faster, happier and healthier.

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* Perimenopause is the years before menopause when your hormones start changing, leading to a whole host of impacts. I’ve written more about what that can look like here -

https://www.feelfitwithlucy.co.uk/post/can-you-train-for-an-ironman-during-perimenopause.

Menopause is just one day, marking 12 months since your last period. And post-menopause is everything after that. But for simplicity, I use 'menopause' throughout to refer to all three.